How To Commit Journalism

Kelly McBride, senior vice president at the Poynter Institute and public editor at NPR, recently wrote an article called "'Unarmed black man' doesn't mean what you think it means." In this episode she discusses the power of words, how they signify differently to different people and how journalists should wield them responsibly.

Four Black journalists at WRAL talk with their colleague, anchor David Crabtree, about their experiences in the workplace and in the world. Guests include producer Miriam Melvin and anchor/reporters Gerald Owens, Lena Tillett and Ken Smith.

Veteran WRAL anchor David Crabtree talks about his recent one-on-one interview with President Trump, how it came about, the particular challenge that had him a little nervous and his interviews with past presidents.

To see David's full interview with President Trump go to https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/19207655/

Bill Adair was reporting on politics in DC when he realized the importance of fact-checking what politicians said, not just reporting on it. The idea of PolitiFact was born, and Adair, now a professor at Duke University, talks about its goals and its reach across the country. WRAL PolitiFact reporter Paul Specht explains the process each fact-check undergoes before ever making it online or on-air.

For complete PolitiFact coverage from WRAL go to https://www.wral.com/politifact/18768740/

Balancing being a wife, mother and working professional is complicated and tough for most women, but add in being an evening news anchor at a top-25 television market, along with an author, and things get really interesting. In her second book, The Juggle Is Real, Molly Grantham, anchor at WBTV in Charlotte, poignantly weaves in the loss of her mother with her own struggles as a working mother of two young children, with insight, humor and self-reflection. This episode of How To Commit Journalism goes behind the scenes of a working journalist as she tries to keep all the balls of life in the air.

Learn more about Molly Grantham at https://www.mollygrantham.com/​

Four WRAL reporters who covered protests following the death of George Floyd talk about their experience reporting on the peaceful marches, vocal crowds and violent riots, along with the police responses that followed. They discuss what teargas feels like when it hits your eyes, memorable interviews with protesters, and what it's like to cover the destruction of a city you love. The discussion features reporters Aaron Thomas, Amanda Lamb, Bryan Mims and Joe Fisher, along with host Ashley Talley.

For WRAL's video coverage of the protests, go to https://www.wral.com/protest/17382846/

WRAL multimedia journalist Joe Fisher has covered all of the protests in downtown Raleigh held by Reopen NC, a grassroots organization whose numbers have swelled through social media, which pushes for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to reopen the state more quickly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. From social distancing during a crowded protest, to handling a live shot when someone is shouting at you, Fisher goes behind the scenes on what it's like to cover these protests.

To watch's Joe Fisher's reports, including his coverage of the Reopen NC protests, go to https://www.wral.com/rs/bio/17927550/?historical=1

Long-time WRAL reporter Bryan Mims talks about his own special brand of storytelling, who is influences are, what he wants to be when he grows up, what the real "f-word" is, and advice to young journalists to "fall in love with the marriage of words and pictures."

Links to the stories mentioned in this podcast:

--Sanitation worker story: https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/sanitation-workers-unsung-heroes-in-virus-outbreak/19056074/

--Nurse reuniting with son: https://www.wral.com/photo-captures-reunion-of-wakemed-nurse-son-separated-by-pandemic/19051710/

--Moncure murder/suicide: https://www.wral.com/after-murder-suicide-bonds-of-family-remain-strong-along-moncure-flatwood-road/19016707/

--Grocery store impact: https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/northampton-county-grocer-fights-to-keep-his-town-fed/19065821/​

Learn more about Bryan Mims: https://www.wral.com/rs/bio/1019406

Leyla Santiago reported at WRAL News before becoming a national correspondent for CNN. First based in Mexico City and now in Washington, D.C. Santiago has traveled the world in her journalism career, focusing on Latin America for part of her time with CNN. While at WRAL, she and a photojournalist traveled to the Rio Grande Valley to tell the story of the surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the border into the U.S. Their documentary of that reporting, The Journey Alone, won the prestigious Alfred I. DuPont Award. Santiago talks about what it's like covering coronavirus from her home in Virginia.

To watch The Journey Alone, go to https://www.wral.com/13866187

Assignment editors at WRAL are on the front lines of covering the COVID-19 pandemic, because they answer the calls, emails and messages from the public.​ They act as therapists to the recently out of work mother who doesn't know how she'll house her children, a resource for retirees trying to understand if they're eligible for the federal stimulus, and sometimes even a calming voice for a laid-off worker frustrated by the inability to contact the employment commission who just wants someone to listen and understand their anger. WRAL assignment editor Jamila Elder talks about what it's like to be on first line of contact for an entire area dealing with a new reality.

For WRAL's complete coronavirus coverage go to http://www.wral.com/coronavirus